Reunion

L.A.: So, I know it's been forever but my semester has been crazy busy. Luckily, I have some time up so I'm hoping to get back into a rhythm of updating my stories. Hope you like it!

Sora stared around the small house, a feeling of disappointment running through him. He had expected something grand and mysterious after finding the secret passage to it. Instead, they had found a vacant dusty small hut.

"There's something about this musty place,"a young female voice said.

Sora's eyes widened. That hadn't been Rin talking. He turned around and saw Kairi trailing her hand across the windowsill.

"It reminds me of the secret place back home where we used to scribble on the walls. Remember?"

There was no way she could be there. Still, Sora had to make sure.

"Kairi?" he whispered.

A hand on his shoulder startled him. "Sora?" Rin asked.

Sora looked back to the windowsill. Kairi was gone.

"I'm fine," Sora said as he shook his head. "Must be a little tired."

Donald's quack caused both of them to look up.

A man with a long white beard and a pointed blue hat stood before them. In his hand was a suitcase.

"Well, well," the man said, "you've arrived sooner than I expected."

Sora frowned. "You knew we were coming?"

The man nodded. "But of course."

Rin and Sora traded glances. "Are you a heartless?" Rin asked.

Donald squinted at him. "He doesn't look like one"

The man chuckled. "Oh, my no. My name is Merlin. As you can see, I'm a sorcerer."

Sora wasn't too sure about that. The man looked as if he were wearing a dress.

"I spened most of my time traveling" Merlin continued as he sat his suitcase down. It's good to be home."

He turned toward Goofy and Donald. "Your king has requested my help."

"King Mickey?" Goofy asked.

Merlin nodded. "Yes, indeed. You two must be Goofy and Donald and…" He frowned at Rin and Sora. "Oh dear, I'm afraid I don't know you two."

"I'm Sora," Sora said. He pointed at Rin. "She's Rin."

"Howdy," Rin said with a slight wave.

"What did the king ask you to do?" Donald asked.

"Just a moment." Merlin opens his bag and taps it. "Presto!"

Furniture, lamps, and odds and ends, flew out of the bag. They whirled around the room nearly colliding with people at times. Eventually they settled down.

Looking around, Sora noticed that the area now looked like a cozy study.

"There, now," Merlin said, looking pleased with himself. "As to your question. Your king asked me to train you in the art of magic."

"Right now?" Rin said, a look of disbelief on her face.

"Heavens no," Merlin said. "You lot must be tired from traveling. However, before you leave for the next world, I would like to train you in a couple of spells."

Rin relaxed while Donald snickered.

"Lazy," Donald whispered.

"Am not," Rin whispere back with a glare.

"Thanks," Sora said. "We'll definitely take you up on that.

"I do not know how much help I can be, but do stop by anytime."

Rin nodded. Her eyes widened as she remembered the book in her hands. "Oh, Cid asked us to give this to you."

She handed the book over to Merlin.

"Thank you," Merlin said. "Do you wish to know what kind of book it is?"

"I was a little curious," Rin said. "It didn't make much sense."

"To be honest, I don't really know much about it myself. In fact, it's not even min. Somehow it found its way into my bag one day. It was a curious book so I asked Cid to repair it for me." Merlin placed it on a nearby pedestal. "Please give Cid my thanks."

Sora nodded. "Come guys. Let's go back to the hotel."

Merlin returned to musing over the book as the door closed. After a moment, he realized he wasn't alone.

"I'm assuming you wanted to ask me something that you didn't want the others to hear?" He asked.

He turned around and saw Rin watching him. Jiminy was perched on her shoulder looking curious.

"Uh, yes," Rin said. "I was wondering… can heartless be good?"

Merlin frowned. "I'm afraid I don't understand what you're asking?"

"The heartless," Rin said. "Is it possible for a heartless to want to protect someone? To not want to steal hearts?"

Merlin stroked his beard. "The heartless soul purpose was to steal hearts to replace the one that they lost. So, I don't think they can necessarily be good. Why do you ask?"

Rin shook her head. "It's nothing. Thanks for your time."

Rin quickly left. She hurried to catch up with the others. Once they were out of earshot, Jiminy cleared his throat.

"You're thinking about the heartless from the Jungle, aren't you?"

"There's was something about him, Jiminy," Rin said. "I don't know… It was like I was seeing an old friend."

When they reached the Third District, Sora and the others were already waiting for them.

"What took you so long?" Donald asked.

"I just had a question about magic," Rin said.

Jiminy frowned. "Rin," he whispered. "You shouldn't lie."

"You couldn't ask me?" Donald frowned. "I know magic too."

Rin grinned sheepishly. "Uh, well you see…"

Suddenly a group of soldier heartless materlize in front of them.

"Perfect timing as usual," Sora said as he pulled out the keyblade.

Before they could react, a streak of black ran past the heartless. They instantly de-materliazed.

"Uh, what was that?" Rin said. She still had her Heartstaff out just in case it was a trap.

"After saving you that's all the thanks I get?" a voice said.

Rin turned in the direction of the voice, a look of disbelief on her face.

Riku stood before them. He grinned as he crossed his arms.

"Riku," Rin said, a faint blush on her cheeks.

"Riku!" Sora said as he rushed forward. He immediately grabbed Riku's face and began to pull it.

"Hey cut it out," Riku asid. "What are you doing?"

Sora let go of Riku's face. "I'm not dreaming this time, right?"

"Not exactly sure what that means but I hope not," Riku said. "It took forever to find you."

Riku grinned as he noticed Rin. "Glad to see you're okay."

Rin's face turned bright red. I almost forgot how cute Riku was. "Y-yeah," she stuttered. "Same to you." Rin mentally slapped herself. And now, I've just made myself look like a bigger idiot.

Sora's expression darknened as he looked from Riku and Rin. It disappeared a moment later when he remembered something. "Wait a second. Where's Kairi?"

Riku frowned. "Isn't she with you?" Seeing both Rin's and Sora's panicked expressions, he quickly added. "Well, don't worry. I'm sure she made it off the island, too. Hey, she might even be looking for us now."

Rin frowned as she noticed a dark pool under a steetlamp. It slowly formed into a shadow heartless behind Riku. She glanced at Sora. He seemed to have noticed it too.

"We'll all be together again soon," Riku said as the heartless approached him. Rin was about to warn him when Riku cut her off. "Don't worry. Just leave everything to me. I know this…"

He was cut off as Sora quicky shot past him and destroyed the heartless. Riku stared at him, stunned.

Sora smirked and hefted the Keyblade onto his shoulder. "Leave it to who?"

Riku shook his head. "Sora, what did you…"

"Rin and I have been looking for you and Kairi, too." He jerked his thumb toward Donald and Goofy. "With their help?"

"Who are they?" Riku said with a raised eyebrow.

Donald cleared his throat as he took a step forward. "My name is…"

"We visited many places and worlds," Rin interrupted causing Donald to glare at her, "looking for you."

"It's true," Sora said as he placed a hand on Riku's shoulder. "We've gone to several crazy worlds just searching for you."

"Really," Riku grinned. "Well, what do you know? I never would have guessed."

"Why wouldn't we look for you," Rin said. "You're important to us." She blushed as she quickly added. "And Kairi. Both of you are important." She quickly averted her gaze as her hands clinched tightly to the bottom of her shirt.

"Oh, and guess what?" Goofy said. Rin was thankful he broke the awkward silence. "Sora's the Keyblade master."

Donald snickered. "Who would've thought it?

Sora glared at him. "What does that mean?"

Sora was so focused on Donald he failed to notice Riku take the Keyblade from his hand.

"So," Riku said as he examined the sword. "This is the Keyblade."

Sora's eyes widened. "Hey, give it back." He tried to grab the Keyblade but Riku dodged his many attempts.

Rin frowned. "How do you know about it?"

She noticed Riku tense at her question as if he were caught off guard. He quickly relaxed as he tossed the Keyblade back to Sora.

"Catch."

Sora caught it but not before sticking his tongue out at him.

"Real mature," Riku said.

While Riku and Sora continued bantering, Rin couldn't help but worry. Why did he avoid my question? She shook her head. I'm just reading too much into this. That's got to be it. Riku's are friend. He wouldn't do anything to hurt us.

"Okay," Sora said, snapping Rin out of her musings. "So, you're coming with us, right? We've an awesome rocket. Wait 'til you see it."

"He can't come," Donald said.

Sora stared at him in disbelief. "What?"

"Why not?" Rin whined.

"Forget it," Donald said as he shook his head.

"But he's our friend," Sora said.

"I don't care," Donald said. "The gummy ship is crowded as it is."

"Uh guys," Goofy said.

"The gummy ship is huge," Rin said. "That's not an excuse."

"He'll slow us down," Donald said.

"Uh, guys…" Goofy said, a little louder this time.

"No he won't," Sora said. "He'll be an extra hand when dealing with the heartless."

"Guys!" Goofy said nearly yelling.

"What!" Donald, Sora, and Rin said as they turned to look at him.

"Uh well," Goofy said, suddenly feeling embarrassed. "I thought you'd like to know. He's gone."

"What?" Rin said.

Everyone looked around but Riku was gone without a trace.

Donald grinned sheepishly as Rin and Sora glared at him.

"Nice going," Rin said.

"Well at least he's okay," Sora said. "Maybe this means we'll run into Kairi, as well." A dopey grin appeared on his face. It disappeared a moment later. "Anyway, let's head back to the hotel and see if Cid's got our gummi ship ready."

Riku and Wolf stared the hotel across the street but made no move to go inside. Lights were on and they could hear laughter from within.

"They seem to be enjoying themselves," Wolf said.

Riku shrugged.

"Why won't you join them?" Wolf asked.

"I have my reasons," Riku said.

"I see that it's just as I told you," a voice said behind them.

Wolf and Riku turned to see Malificent standing behind them. Wolf noted that her smile seemd even more sinister than usual.

"While you toiled away trying to find your dear friend, he replaced you with some new companions. Evidently, he values them more than he does you. " She said as she placed a comforting hand on Riku's shoulder. "And the girl, Rin was it?"

Wolf's ears perked as he glared at Malificent. What was she doing bringing Rin into this.

"What about her?" Riku asked.

"She's barely friends with your group yet Sora seems to have allowed her to replace your friend Kairi."

Riku's expression darkened. "Replace Kairi?"

Wolf growled. Malificent was toying with Riku. That was obvious. But, did she have to bring Rin into the mix?

Malificent walked away from Riku. "You're better off with out that wretched boy." A dark portal materialized in front of her. She motioned to it. "Now, think no more of him and come with me." She smiled. "I'll help you find what you're searching for…"

Riku glanced back at the hotel once before nodding. He stepped through the dark portal.

Malificent was about to follow when Wolf stepped in front of her.

"Problems?" She asked.

"Why did you bring Rin into this," Wolf said. "We both agreed she didn't have the ability to ruin your plans."

"Yet, she seems to have some hold over you," Malificent said. "I did it for insurance."

"Insurance?" Wolf cocked his head.

"I don't have time to look after the boy," Malificent said. "So, you will watch my pawn." She smirked. "And, what better reason to watch him if you knew he may come after your precious Rin one day."

Malificent laughed as she passed him. "You should get those silly notions of hope out of your head." She turned back to look at him. "You are still useful to me. As long as you are useful, you belong to me."

Rin sighed as she towel dried her hair. After returning to the hotel, they found that Cid, Yuffie, Leon and Aerith were waiting for them. Cid thanked them for returning the book and told them that the gummy ship wouldn't be ready till the next day.

Donald decided that they would take Merlin's offer to train in magic in the morning. Rin figured it was because he wanted to see if he was better at magic than Merlin.

They were also learned of the witch Maleficent. She was responsible for the heartless outbreak. Once again, she wasn't surprised when she heard the name. She didn't know if she was just getting used to strange events occurring or something else.

Jiminy was sitting on her bedside table when she entered. He was furiously scribbling away in his notebook. He barely acknowledged her presence.

He had been angry at her for lying to the others. She figured it was time to clear the air.

"Jiminy, I know you're upset that I didn't tell the others about the heartless."

"I'm not upset that you didn't tell them," Jiminy said, refusing to look up from his notebook. "I'm upset that you lied to them."

"Why is it a big deal?" Rin said. "It was just a little one."

Jiminy set down his notebook and crossed his arms. "They always start out little but the more you tell, the bigger they get. Eventually you'll be swallowed up by your own lies." Jiminy's expression saddened as he muttered. "That's why I always told Pinochio to never lie."

"You've mentioned that name before," Rin said, suddenly curious. "Who's Pinocchio?"

Jiminy perked up. "Oh, he's a wooden puppet who was brought to life by the blue fairy." He smiled as his eyes grew distant. "He wants to be a real boy so I became his concience." His expression saddened again. "I haven't seen him since our world was swallowed by darkness."

"Oh," Rin said, suddenly feeling guilty.

A moment later, Rin sighed. "I'm sorry for lying, Jiminy. It's just that I'm used to dealing with problems by myself."

"But friends can help you," Jiminy said.

"I know that," Rin said. "It's just… Please, I want to keep this a secret for a while."

Jiminy was silent for a moment. He shrugged before returning to writing. "I won't say anything unless they ask."

Rin smiled. "Thanks, Jiminy."

Jiminy checked his watch. "Oh my, it's late. We should be getting to bed."

"I think I'll go outside for a moment," Rin said. "Fresh air helps me sleep."

"Be careful," Jiminy said. He hopped off her bedside table and went to bed.

As she stepped outside, she saw she wasn't alone. Sora was leaning against the railing looking out over the 2nd district.

"I see I'm not the only one who came out for the night air," Rin said as she approached him.

Sora turned and grinned. "Yeah, helps me clear my head."

"Still worried about Riku?" Rin asked.

"Yeah, I hope he's okay," Sora said.

"He's Riku," Rin said, a faint pink tinge on her cheeks. "He'll be fine."

They were silent for a moment.

"You like Riku, don't you?" Sora asked, a sly grin on his face.

Her blush deepened. "Is it that obvious?"

"You don't have to worry," Sora said. "Riku's really oblivious."

"Uh, thanks?" Rin said, unsure of how to respond. "And you like Kairi," Rin added.

Sora winced. "Is it that obvious?"

Rin laughed. "Look at us. We're both terrible when it comes to crushes."

"Seems, like we have a lot in common," Sora added.

They were interrupted by a loud bell ringing through the air. They covered their ears until the ringing stopped.

"That bell," Rin said. "They really ought to fix it."

L.A.: That's it for this chapter. You know what to do. READ and REVIEW!